


Johnny and the Bomb

by appending_fic



Series: Fire and Wonder [7]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Coraline (2009), Gravity Falls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery Skulls Animated, ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Gotta Stop Them All, Protective Siblings, Referenced Mass Murder, Talking, The Cat is Up to Something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6998155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a ghost ship to Asia, Mabel, Norman, and Arthur meet up with a group of people trying to hide out from the Chimera Destruction. Eager to try out their new secret weapon, they work to enlist their new acquaintances into the fight to save the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Somehow, the arrival of the Chimerae had stolen some of the magic out of the world. Everything seemed a little duller, and little more drab. Even in North America, where the madness of Delirium seeped into every aspect of reality, it felt...forced. Fake.

Oh, the danger was real; Coraline knew that. She'd been traveling on her own for weeks, maybe a month or two, and had seen evidence of that. But...well, Cipher was a creature of dream. Perhaps this was all some massive nightmare.

A shift of something behind her made Coraline spin on her heels, drawing the silver blade she'd begged off an elf she'd tracked down in Detroit (which had not suffered anything under Delirium that mortals had not already done). Behind her, now at the end of her sword, was a Chimera. A goat-headed beast with an eagle's and bat's wings. There were signs - little ones - that it was not one of the lesser brood that could sometimes be seen winging their way through the sky. But it was not one of the Cipher siblings.

"Who are you?"

The Chimera raised its paws (hands?) cautiously. "Someone who's definitely not looking to get skewered today, thanks. Maybe you could drop the sword?"

"No. Not until I know your name."

The Chimera sighed. "It's Discord."

And something about the name struck Coraline as odd, something she should ask about…

"From what I've seen, you should be rampaging over the world, spreading chaos."

"Pfft," Discord replied, making a dismissive wave with its (his?) lion's paw. "Murdering people's not interesting. At the end of it, you just have dead people." He paused, tilting his head, tapping at his chin with a long claw. "Wait. That came out wrong. Ah! I'm one of the good guys!"

"Are you?" Coraline didn't let her sword drop. "You're not doing a good job of convincing me."

"Yes, well, I'm new at it. Um. I could show you a friendship bracelet my best friend Fluttershy made me. Or I could tell you the story of how I decided to become good. It started when I decided to plunge Equestria into an age of eternal chaos-"

"How about no. I'd rather hear about why you're here."

"Oh, that!" Discord grinned, a toothy smile wider than his head. "The cat suggested I team up with you. You see, Bill did something _really stupid_ , and that means there's a weapon on this world we can use against him. But it requires invoking certain laws...something that neither I nor the cat are particularly good at."

Coraline at last let the sword dip (but kept it at the ready, just in case). "What sort of laws? What sort of weapon?"

"It's not exactly a weapon, really. More of a consequence. A punishment. _Vengeance_."

"And where will we be going to find this 'vengeance'?"

Discord grinned again. "There's a lovely little cafe in Greece…"


	2. Chapter 2

Mabel wasn’t certain where they were when the brightly-colored robot appeared above them, waving them down toward the tiny island. She was pretty sure it was technically Asia, but they were a billion miles from anywhere. In any case, she recognized the robot from the battle at Mount Rushmore.

The ghost pirate set them down where the robot directed. A gangly white guy stumbled out from behind some rocks, waving as they disembarked.

“Woah, hey, you look familiar!”

“Mount Rushmore,” Arthur said, holding out his right hand.

The other man grabbed his left, instead, shaking it enthusiastically. “Yeah, of course! I’m Fred. Hiro and the others are around here somewhere, but I’m the first line of defense.”

Arthur’s gaze slid to the robot.

The robot, appearing to notice the attention, shook its head. “My name is Baymax; I am a personal healthcare companion. It is my job to identify individuals who may require medical attention, supplies, or guidance. I have been instructed to inform all visitors that continuing north or west will likely expose them to a substantial risk of injury or death.”

Norman snorted. “What doesn’t?”

“My intelligence is not reliable, but people have reported South America is relatively free of hostile chimerae.”

Norman gave the robot a quick glance, and Mabel had to admit being surprised by that. Seven chimerae, seven continents - it had seemed like they would have split things up evenly.

“What’s going down with South America?”

“Good question! As near as anyone can tell, the chimera Destiny lives in South America, but has not executed the same magnitude of destruction as his siblings. Hiro has attempted to engage the others in a debate on the reason for this discrepancy, but the discussions on the subject have not been productive.”

“So we can leave that alone for a while. What about...Hiro? What’s he up to?”

Baymax’s eyes spun a little. “He, Tadashi, and his team have resolved to secure a relatively benign location and render assistance needed from those who can reach them.” After a brief pause, he pressed forward. “They agreed this is the best they can do. The chimera Destruction has demonstrated substantially adept at...Destruction. They estimated their chances of surviving an encounter with him were unacceptably low.”

“And what do you think?”

The robot turned slowly to Norman. Its eyes widened fractionally and spun. Fred, to the side, looked startled himself. “Certainly, my programming finds such a support role an adequate use of my skills. But...Hiro always expressed a desire to explore the limits of his skills. I would like...to effect improvements to global healthcare. I would be satisfied to assist in preventing Destruction from committing further acts of violence.”

“Woah, dude.” Fred slung an arm around Baymax. “You actually wanna kick some chimera ass?”

“No. I do not believe prolonging hostilities will help matters. That was...attempted, once. I would not like to do so again.”

Mabel couldn’t help but grin. It was very easy to find people who harbored dreams of taking down the chimerae. It was much harder to find people who thought actually killing them wasn’t the way.

“Well, as it just so happens, we’re on our way to do just that. _And_ we’ve got a secret weapon.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s take you three to meet the team!”

Fred kicked a tree stump, knocking it aside to reveal a long set of stairs plunging underground. Mabel took the lead, with Norman and Arthur following, and Baymax at the rear. The team turned out to be five other young men and women living in an underground bunker. Mabel recognized all of them, but mostly Hiro and Tadashi, the boys who’d been at the epicenter of the Chimerae’s return. Tadashi, the older boy, still looked unwell, skin ashen and stretched over his bones. Hiro was nearly as tall as him, a sign that they’d all changed in the past year or so. He was in deep conversation with Tadashi, but Mabel could see in his stance, his closeness to the other boy, that he was far more concerned about Tadashi’s health than whatever the topic of their conversation.

Two women were bent over a worktable; one, tall, slender, and dressed in bright clothes that contrasted her sun-darkened skin; the other shorter, athletic, dark-haired, with a round face inset with eyes narrowed in concentration. The taller one was tapping a thin circle of metal or something, while the other was responding in brusque gestures.

The other occupant, a dark-skinned man hunched over something that looked like a flashlight, edged out even the tall woman in height, and from his broad build, probably outweighed them all. His size would have been menacing if he weren’t wearing a green cardigan and hadn’t jumped up at their arrival, grinning widely at them.

“Fred! Hey. Who are the new kids?”

“Mabel Pines.” Mabel stuck her hand out and elbowed Norman, who did the same. “This is Norman and Arthur. We’re on a mission to save the world.”

“Wait a minute, I remember you.” The guy who’d come to meet them pointed at Norman. “You tried to talk Hiro out of reviving Tadashi.”

At the mention of his name, Hiro jerked his head up. Seeing Mabel and Norman, he scrambled toward them, frowning.

“What are you...three doing here?” He gave Arthur a strange glance as he approached. “And where’s that other kid?”

“No clue,” Mabel replied. “But like I was telling…”

“Wasabi.”

“Wasabi, here, we’re here to stop Destructions reign of...destruction and rescue all of Asia from a life of fear and pain.”

“ _How_? There were like a dozen of us trying to stop them back at Mount Rushmore, and that didn’t work.”

Mabel gave Hiro a blinding grin; it actually seemed to faze him for a moment. “Yeah, but one, we’re facing one of them at a time; two, we’ve got a secret weapon; and three, don’t be such a downer. This is really sort of a formality anyway; we’re heading out ASAP, and were hoping you could give us a ride; the ghost ship we came in on is heading back to Australia.”

“You’re going to do this _alone_?”

Mabel shrugged. “Sure, unless you want to come along.”

Hiro glanced back at his brother briefly before shaking his head. “No, we’ve got a lot to do down here-”

A blaring siren cut him off and continued for several seconds before decreasing in volume to become merely irritating instead of deafening. Lights on the walls began flashing in irregular patterns. The shorter of the two women swore and darted for a computer panel wired into the wall.

Norman stepped a little closer to Mabel and slightly in front of her. It took a moment to realize he was trying to protect her, and if it wasn’t for the timing, she might have teased him about it. Somewhere in the back of his head, though, he must have realized that keeping her safe would have been somewhere near the top of Dipper’s priorities, had he been here, and thus that he needed to pick up the slack.

It was sort of sweet, but also not the time.

“What’s going on, Gogo?” Hiro demanded, rounding towards the console the woman was standing at.

“Multiples coming in from the northwest. I don’t think it’s Destruction, but that’s probably not going to matter in the long run.”

“Do we have a way out?” Arthur’s voice had gone high, and Mabel reached back to give him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"If we've got enough fuel to reach the mainland," Gogo snapped.

"Don't worry; we've got enough excess material that I can get us more mid-flight. Wasabi, grab some of those whiteboards. Baymax, make sure everyone gets onboard." The tall woman was already grabbing an eclectic mix of items, from notebooks and several tablets to stacks of plastic sheeting.

"It would be best if you headed toward the jet," Baymax said, nudging Norman toward a door off to the right. "Honey and the others know how to evacuate."

Mabel grabbed Norman's and Arthur's hands and dragged them toward the door. Tadashi, she noted, was following them, helped by Baymax. It seemed they were all lumped together as people to be kept out of the way during an emergency, which was fine by her. She was certain she didn't know what they needed to get onto the plane, especially because everyone here seemed to be some sort of engineer.

Tadashi caught up with them at the door. Baymax punched a small panel, opening the door, and stepped back. "I am told 'voila' is the correct thing to say at this moment."

"Whoa," Arthur murmured. Norman darted forward, as well. Beyond the door was a high-vaulted cavern, the sort of place that in Mabel's experience was usually full of dinosaurs or something like them. Someone seemed to have carved a straight bore through the side of the cave, all the way to a circle of light several hundred yards away.

What had captured Arthur's and Norman's attention, however, was the jet. It was closer to the size of a small passenger plane, but still sleek and smooth. It smelled, vaguely, of paint, which suggested the blue-and-white patterns were a recent addition, possibly a form of camouflage.

Mabel didn't know enough to tell if it was impressive for a jet, but it was impressive all on its own, and, she noted with satisfaction, was unarmed.

"We didn't put this together ourselves; it belongs to Fred's parents. This island is theirs, too. Apparently, they've got safehouses all over the place."

"We should keep moving."

Tadashi sighed and complied with Baymax's directions. Mabel glanced back at the open door and the other members of Tadashi's group scurrying like ants. He hardly seemed the easily flustered type, and was surely smart enough to keep up with the rest of the team.

"Are you sick?" she asked Tadashi.

He paused at the lowered steps that led to the jet's interior, shaking his head after a moment. "Not really. Things...took a toll on me, but I'm fine. Hiro just worries, and I'd rather let him baby me than risk putting him - them through that again."

Tadashi gave her a wan smile before boarding the jet. Mabel followed hurriedly, feeling a strange twist in her gut. She wasn't certain who she sympathized with more, but it was a painful thought. One that brought far too close to home the fact that Dipper was still who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what, where just existing could be considered high-risk.

The inside of the jet looked a little like a smugglers’ plane, stacked full with plastic crates among the seats, fancy, leather-upholstered creations that hinted at the jet’s original purpose as a luxury jet. Just as Tadashi took his seat, Honey tugged a box overflowing with small, translucent orbs onto the plane. She waved at Mabel. “You’re going to need to take your seats. We’re going to be flying out of here pretty fast; Hiro and Gogo have been tinkering with the aerodynamics, and she’s never driven a vehicle she didn’t push to the limit. Especially when we’re fleeing for our lives.”

A moment later, Fred and Wasabi threw a crate onto the jet, following after with a crate they were carrying.

“T-minus sixty seconds!” Gogo shouted from outside.

“Okay! Everybody in your seats!” Norman and Arthur hurried to obey Mabel, at least, showing they could be taught. She strapped herself into a seat near Norman, giving him a thumbs-up when he looked her way.

The scientists entered a flurry of bringing stuff aboard and strapping things down. Mabel took a deep breath.

“Wait - does anyone know where we’re going?” Norman’s voice went a little high with worry.

“Taiwan, most likely, unless Destruction’s set off another super-hurricane,” Honey responded, rummaging through a box and pulling out objects at random.

“Wait, Taiwan? Like, where people last saw Destruction-Taiwan?” Wasabi demanded. “How is that safer than this?”

“Frankly, I think this whole situation is making it clear ‘safer’ isn’t a word people get to use anymore,” Gogo snapped, striding up onto the plane. Hiro trailed after her and pulled the stairs up to close the door. “Ten seconds, people.”

Everyone fell quiet as Gogo sat at the pilot’s seat up front, flipping switches and awakening a low hum as the jet came to life. It was, therefore, quiet enough to hear a deafening roar as something slammed into the island above.

“Oh, fuck me,” Gogo growled. “Hang on, everyone, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

Mabel hadn’t even been scared of flying her first time in the air, but up until this point in her life, she’d never been onboard a plane trying to take off from an underground bunker while a Chimera tried to shoot them out of the air. It pushed even her carnival-hardened stomach to its limits. As they erupted from the cave, the sky spun; Gogo wrestled with the controls, sending them spiraling in erratic directions. Although she was seated next to a window, Mabel didn't see anything of their pursuers. She heard a deafening bellow after about a minute of flight, and a triumphant shout from Gogo.

"Bastard hit his friend with that! That just leaves one..."

"I'll handle it." Honey rose smoothly from her seat, navigating the still-bucking floor with ease until she reached a blue touch-screen panel on the far wall. She tapped it a few times to open a compartment below it, and then tipped in several brightly-colored balls from her purse. "Could you straighten out for a moment?"

"Only if it's going to pay off." 

Mabel jerked sideways when the plane leveled off, and she caught a brief glimpse of something serpentine soaring after them, made up in garish colors. It jerked up suddenly, pausing in mid-flight, before it was engulfed in a pink cloud and dropped out of sight.

With a sinking feeling, she looked up at Honey. "What did you do?"

"Hit him with an expansionary foam that has extraordinary cohesive and adhesive properties, and which loses most of its rigidity a few seconds after exposure to air."

"What?"

"It's some sort of glue bomb," Norman concluded.

"More or less," Honey replied. "Setting aside the pacifistic trend in this little band, all reports suggest the only thing that can hurt, much less kill, a Chimera is another Chimera."

" _Or_ other mythological creatures," Fred added. "It's why they murdered Santa Claus."

Mabel expected one of the group of scientists to scoff and call Fred crazy. She didn't expect the silent exchange, or for Honey to say, "That's just a theory. They could have had any number of reasons for...eliminating him."

"Why do _you_ believe in Santa?" Arthur demanded.

"Secret government documents," Tadashi replied. "When Delirium's No-Nothing Brigade took out the Pentagon, someone dumped pretty much everything the US government had onto the Internet. They must have figured they were all doomed, anyway, and there might be something in all those reports that could help everyone else. Turns out someone made a bargain to make sure the United States would last until the end of the world, and put Santa Claus in charge. He and a bunch of his friends tried to take out the Chimerae after Mount Rushmore. It...didn’t work.”

“Right, because they were afraid of the mythological creatures!”

“Or Bill Cipher thought it was funny, or they wanted to deny us hope, or any number of a thousand different reasons,” Wasabi groaned. “In any case, we’re not trying to kill them. Which is why we’re hiding in a cave, because nobody’s got any other ideas.”

“Well then,” Mabel said, “it’s lucky for you we met up. Norman here can rip the magic out of a Chimera and stick it in…” She paused, remembering that getting rid of a Chimera wasn’t quite as easy as just ripping out its magic. The big ones - the Cipher siblings - were so obsessed with the power they embodied that it consumed them. And as long as they lived, they could take it back, unless another living thing embraced that power...and that obsession.

She looked around at the people in the plane, wondering who among them could replace Destruction. Who of these people had a heart that could burn for eternity with the power to unmake whole civilizations. 

She had a sinking feeling that none of them had the fortitude to hold that back. But it wouldn’t do to be negative. They’d come up with something; they’d managed before.

“Well, we get rid of it.”

“Sounds too easy,” Gogo said, leaning back in her chair. “What’s the catch?”

“I have to get close enough to...well, not touch, but definitely...close.”

“So, in order to defeat Destruction, we have to somehow get close enough to him - without being vaporized - for you to take his power and - do what with it, exactly?” Wasabi pulled himself from his seat, scowling as he began to pace. “You didn’t say, and that’s where I start getting worried, when people leave out parts of the plan.”

“Someone has to take its place.” Arthur kicked his feet up on the footrest and pushed his seat back. “A friend of mine did it for Death. She killed to see people dead; he thought someone needed to care for the dead.”

“So who’s supposed to take Destruction’s place?” Hiro demanded. “Are you going to do it?”

Arthur chuckled dryly. “No, I’ve got my eye on another Chimera.”

Mabel didn’t need to read Arthur’s mind to know who he was gunning for. Desire had done an awful lot to make a lot of people angry; even Mabel was tempted to give him a kick when she got the chance. But it did mean that everyone now knew the big flaw in the plan.

“I’ll do it.”

“No.” Hiro struggled out of his seat and stalked to Tadashi’s side, poking him hard in the chest. “No. You’re not going to become some - avatar of destruction. They didn’t need to say it to tell us whoever takes over Destruction is going to - it’s like death again, and I’m not going to let you do it!”

Tadashi met his brother’s gaze with his own, an even match. “What I’ve got isn’t much like living, though.You’ve got me cooped up so I can’t sneeze without Baymax giving me a full checkup-”

“To be fair, you programmed him that way,” Honey interjected.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Tadashi continued, “I can’t live like this. And don’t you dare tell me I could die, because we could all die any moment, and I want to be able to say I didn’t waste my second chance at life.”

“But you’ll _die_!”

Tadashi gave Hiro a weak smile, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from his eyes. “It’s a terrible habit, I know, rushing in to save people in trouble. But I think...if I had to die to save people, there has to be someone out there who would be worth it.”

“Fuck you,” Hiro muttered, but the words were without heat, and there were tears streaming down his cheeks. “You self-sacrificing moron.”

“Yeah. I seem to spend an awful lot of time running after assholes who got themselves in trouble.”

“As sweet as this is, I need someone to fabricate enough fuel to get us to Taiwan, and someone else to make a plan so we don’t get vaporized before we land, and yes, find a way to help Tadashi practice keeping a rein on the destructive impulses of a demon.”

The next several hours were tense but quiet. Honey and Wasabi spent most of the time doing complicated science stuff with what was apparently trash, while Hiro consulted with Gogo on navigation. 

Mabel joined Fred and Baymax in trying to help Tadashi out, while Norman watched the windows. Mabel was beginning to seriously worry about him, getting all broody. She wasn’t certain how much of that was him missing his family or Dipper, and how much was the spirit world intruding more on his senses. She caught him muttering to himself a few times.

Mabel abandoned the training session after about an hour and draped herself over Norman. He was quiet, staring at the passing clouds, and didn’t react when Mabel poked his cheek.

“Hey. What’s going on in there?”

Norman sighed. “It’s not going to work.”

“Yeah, you got that, too?”

He gave her a sharp glance before turning back to the window. “It’s weird how you do that. I’ve been...trying. To see, you know. And it’s not going to work. You can’t rein in destruction. Or Tadashi can’t, at least.”

“They’re scientists,” Mabel scoffed. “They can’t wrap their brains around wrecking stuff.”

“So now I’m just...hoping.”

Mabel rubbed Norman’s shoulder. “Come on, cheer up. We’ve got a winning streak going on.”

“We got lucky _once_.”

“Ha! A streak of one is still a streak! And anyway, we’ve survived this long against things a billion times worse than the earthly manifestation of destruction.”

“That I’d like to see.”

“Yah!” Mabel and Norman slammed into the wall when she jerked away from the voice behind her. The others, Baymax excluded, dropped into combat poses. In the center of the free space in the jet stood a slender boy, Japanese or something similar, with neat black hair cut at the nape of his neck. He looked out of place, strangely old-fashioned in a white tunic over blue shorts and shirt. He stood stiffly, formally, but without any tension.

“Warn a girl before you do that!”

He bowed. “I apologize. I sensed you passing and needed to reach out to you. My name is...Kohaku. I am a friend of Chihiro’s.”

“Chihiro?” Hiro stepped a little closer to the person. "She...is she alright? I lost track of her after...Mount Rushmore."

Kohaku shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Even among the spirits, communication between communities is limited.”

“Oh.” Norman’s expression sobered. “Are you here to help us?”

"No. I was...seeking refuge, I'm afraid. There is little we can do to help - little any of us can do. Even the most powerful spirits have gone into hiding."

“What?” Kohaku flinched when Mabel shouted, retreating when she stormed toward him. Her chest felt tight and hot, a sort of haze descending over her consciousness. She angrily poked him in the chest, sending him stumbling another step back. “You’re not going to help? Are you on their side?”

“N - no! No spirits have anything but hatred in their hearts for the Chimerae - even my mis - Yubaba and her sister agree on that!”

“If you don’t like them, why won’t you help stop them? Do you _want_ them to wipe us all out?”

“No, I-” Kohaku stormed away, fists clenched at his sides. Due to the size of the jet, he didn’t get far, just resting his forehead against the metal. “Do you know what Bill Cipher did to the spirits who tried to keep him and the other Chimerae from leaving the Badlands?”

“He killed them,” Wasabi replied. “So what? Chimerae kill people every day, and we’re still fighting.”

“He didn’t kill them. He _erased_ them. Bill Cipher is a creature of myth and dream; he can shape them the same way a potter shapes clay. There’s no _point_ to us fighting him.” Kohaku's fists twitched helplessly at his side as he spoke, and he watched them with watery algae-colored eyes.

The others, save Gogo, who was trying to keep them in the air, gave Kohaku uncertain, sad looks. Mabel, however, wasn’t letting Kohaku and the spirits off the hook that easily. She took a deep breath to steel herself and plunged into Kohaku’s memories. Every time she did something like this, Mabel had to remind herself she wasn’t Bill Cipher, wasn’t Gideon. Her talents weren’t something to use for her own good, but it made her feel skeevy even when there was a good reason for it.

And there was. She needed leverage to convince Kohaku there was some reason to join the fight against the Chimerae.

“And what are you going to do after Bill Cipher kills Chihiro?”

“I-”

“You’re kidding yourselves if you think you’re helping anyone by staying out of this - and when he’s done with us, he’s coming after you. Even if you don’t want to face him, there’s got to be something you can do-”

Before Kohaku could respond, the jet rocked wildly. Mabel stumbled to her knees, and she saw the others make efforts to stay upright. Baymax rocked on some internal gyrocoptor (or whatever the word was) to remain standing without apparent effort.

Gogo swore from the front. “What the hell? We’ve got some sort of squall out of nowhere - _fuck_!” The jet jolted again. “We’ve got a chimera incoming - we’ve got _Destruction_ incoming! Someone get on the big guns!”

“It won’t do any good,” Kohaku said. Mabel remembered abruptly that he'd said he was looking for _refuge_ , and wondered what he'd been doing to draw Destruction's attention. Kohaku took a deep breath and knelt, placing his hands flat on the floor of the jet. They glowed a pale blue as he closed his eyes; Mabel saw a flicker of greenish-yellow purple that arced across the floor and up the walls. Sparks danced across the instrument panel at the front.

“Hey!” Gogo punched a button that didn’t seem to accomplish more than setting off a high-pitched ringing alarm. “No magic near the delicate instruments!”

“I apologize, but shielding us from Destruction’s perception seemed like a more imminent concern.”

“Great, now we can crash without attracting notice.”

“I would advise everyone sit down and secure your seat belts so as to minimize the risk of injury during our landing.”

“Grunkle Stan always said seat belts were a sucker’s game.”

“While well-intentioned, your Grunkle Stan’s opinion fails to take into account a number of reliable statistical analyses attesting to the safety of safety harnesses. For example-”

“Baymax, crash position! Mabel, just buckle your seat belt! Tadashi, brace yourself!”

Mabel buckled in and gripped the armrests, readying herself as Gogo lost her battle with gravity. She supposed crashing was better than being vaporized by a Chimera, but at the moment, plummeting toward the southeast Asian coast, it didn’t seem like it would make much of a difference.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiro had updated Baymax’s programming after their original adventure. He’d explained that people who needed help might not be able to indicate verbally that they needed help, so he’d provided several subroutines to allow Baymax to emerge when Baymax’s services might be needed. He had expanded Baymax’s programming even further, on Baymax’s request, to allow Baymax to emerge without prompting from external stimuli.

So once the shaking stopped, Baymax started the emergence subroutine. It was certain that someone was injured from the crash, and equally likely that they were unable to indicate as such. Once properly inflated, Baymax began scanning the surrounding area.

Baymax stood somewhere that until recently had been a thriving forest. Stumps of trees oozed sap from their surfaces, and the air was filled with burning particulates and smoke. The scene was largely similar for several miles in front of Bayax. It was difficult to make out any smoke that could be identified as from the wreck of an airplane, and there was no visible wreck. Baymax’s storage unit lay neatly on the ground next to an irregular ditch. It looked as if the unit had fallen to earth only for someone to dig it out...

Baymax’s sensors completed their scan, providing a solution to the mystery of the storage unit.

Someone was standing behind Baymax, a person whose biometrics were unknown to him. In fact, the biometrics were so far outside the human norms that it was reasonable to conclude they were not human.

Baymax turned. A serpentine creature stood there, one with red eyes, a bull’s head, the antlers of a moose and a deer, and a scorpion’s tail.

“What the hell are you?” Destruction demanded.

Of all of Bamax’s programming, Hiro had never even discussed repgrogramming this response. “I am Baymax, your personal health care companion.” Baymax paused for a moment. “As a disclaimer, I have little knowledge of the biology of non-human creatures. If you desired, I could incorporate a full-body scan into information gathered from a personal interview to develop basic first-aid skills, but I couldn’t guarantee their effectiveness.”

Destruction snorted. “Don’t bother. The only thing that can hurt one of us is another Chimera. So you’re some sort of doctor?”

“I lack the necessary qualifications to practice medicine. I can only offer medical care with informed consent or under circumstances under which ‘Good Samaritan’ laws indicate that care is necessary and no qualified professional is available. I have also been programmed to act in circumstances to pro-actively minimize injury to others in situations in which injury might otherwise occur.”

“Wait a minute - I remember you!” Destruction pointed a wolf’s paw at Baymax. “You and those kids were running around trying to keep Bill from completing the Final Summoning!”

Baymax nodded. “Honey explained that preventing you from accessing the material world would prevent a substantial amount of human injury and death.”

Destruction snorted. “Is that all you care about? Keeping people from being hurt?”

“It _is_ my primary function.”

“Tch. You are aware I’m the avatar of destruction, yes?” Destruction chuckled. “Your antithesis in every way - my every thought consumed with the end of all things.”

“The development of hobbies outside of one's profession can help relieve stress," Baymax replied. "Obsession can introduce strain that could result in heart attack or stroke, or merely weaken your immune system."

"Obsession - it sounds like you've got it too." Destruction grinned. His teeth seemed healthy.

"I am a robot. My thoughts are meant to focus on my core programming. I apologize if I am making an error in assessing your psychology, but obsession over the concept of destruction may be the signs of a deeper self-destructive impulse. Have you tried to develop outside hobbies?"

Destruction, balanced on crocodile and termite legs, stepped back unsteadily. The chimera reoriented himself and glowered at Baymax. “I could wipe you off the face of the Earth with a thought.”

“I am aware of that fact. I find it curious you have not already done so; your history demonstrates no hesitation in destroying everything you encounter.”

Destruction didn't immediately respond.

“Do you intend to destroy me?”

Destruction chuckled. “I can’t pull the wool over your eyes. Of course I’m going to destroy you. It’s what I _do_. It’s what everybody does.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You just don’t want to. How do you think you got here, Baymax? Countless little acts of destruction, and a few big ones, made it possible for you to come into being.”

“I don’t-”

“Understand, I know! Come on, use that mechanical brain of yours! You were created to be a medical assistant because of the pain and destruction that fills everyday life. And of course, humanity exists only because the world has been wiped clean of life - more than once. But that’s not even it. Every moment, every creature burns a little bit of the world’s energy, pushing it towards its inevitable destruction. Not just creatures. Plants, the planets, even the stars themselves. Humanity benefits from this endless destruction, and yet sees me as unnatural, some monster to be fought.”

Destruction’s heartbeat was increasing. If he was anything like a human, or even any mammal, that indicated increased stress.

“Do you want people to be happy that you kill them?”

“Aren’t you listening?” Destruction leapt forward, his lupine paw landing heavily on Baymax’s shoulder. His jaw was clenched, eyes wide, signs of emotional pain. “They’re doomed anyway! My every breath is consumed by that knowledge, my every thought absorbed with it. And yet living things struggle every moment to fight against it. They will acknowledge in one breath that death is inevitable and in the next debate what they will have for breakfast.”

He was shaking, his heart racing. Signs of anxiety, of a psychological wound left untreated. “I do not think this is a healthy reaction toward your frustration.”

“Healthy? And what about them? Those who spend every waking hour hiding from the truth? How is that healthy? They spend untold amounts of wealth creating insipid stories to distract them, and _I’m_ unhealthy? I’m just awakening them to the truth, forcing them to acknowledge what they refuse to!”

Baymax knew that there was no magic key to solving the sorts of emotional problems that caused people such stress. But sometimes, if a doctor was lucky, they could find a way to make such a person take a step back and re-examine what haunted them.

“You hate them for...seeking to distance themselves from reality?”

“Do you realize what effort they go through? People have spent their whole lives creating paintings that are lost to the elements before another living soul sees them. The wealth of nations are wasted creating meaningless drivel to distract them from the truth. A man created a symphony of _silence_ rather than face reality!”

A good therapist listened to the words their patient used, because sometimes they could be important. And two words kept cropping up in Destruction’s rant. Reality.

And _create_.

“Have you ever tried to create anything? Art therapy can allow someone to channel their emotions-”

Destruction slammed a fist into the earth, sending a shockwave for hundreds of meters in every direction. When it died down, he raised his eyes up to Baymax. They were red-rimmed, tearing. “It’s not _fair_!” Destruction wailed. “They live and die in the blink of an eye, and create things that are remembered for a thousand years. And I…”

“You can only destroy.”

"There's no… _life_ to anything I make."

"I do not believe I am qualified to make a judgment on the matter. But...I do not create, either. I was created to fix people."

The ground shook as Destruction growled deep in his throat. "Are you trying to make fun of me? That I am no better than a machine?"

"No. I am trying to explain. In saving lives, I am creating new possibilities. Someone who might have died will live, and can change the world with their choices."

"And I _destroy_ possibilities!" Destruction roared.

"Humans once spent extraordinary effort preventing forest fires, because they result in tremendous loss of life, and risk human lives. But the forest fires they did have were fiercer, more destructive. In time, humans realized that the destruction of forest fires is necessary to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Old brush must be cleared out so new growth can occur."

"I do not feel people would thank me for clearing the way for their successors."

"But certain limited uses of your talents - in construction, mining, forest maintenance-"

"You think I should turn my powers to - to _infrastructure_?"

"I am suggesting possible remedies for a condition which is causing you ongoing stress. If you are concerned over the scale-"

"Wait. Scale?" Destruction stepped away from Baymax and began pacing with his uneven gait. "Yes...dying stars scatter the elements needed to make new worlds, new life. Dead galaxies falling into black holes can pull new stars to give birth to young star systems. Universes devoid of all life contain the mass that can make new ones." Destruction's bull head shifted, grinning with gleaming fangs.

"Hey! Get away from him!" 

The Chimera’s body tensed. Baymax’s scanners indicated Mabel, her friends, and the team were approaching Destruction’s location at a run. Baymax shifted, standing between Mabel and Destruction.

“Please stop your approach. We are in the middle of a very productive discussion."

Hiro stumbled, bringing down Tadashi and Wasabi. He popped back up immediately. “You’re not seriously helping him!”

Baymax glanced at Mabel; the girl, who had no desire to kill the Chimerae, had paused to stare thoughtfully at Baymax. She looked up at Destruction and bit at her lip, brow furrowing as she took in the scene.

"Your sister wasn't much for talking."

Destruction growled. "She was never all that social; killing everything she touched agreed with her."

"But you felt...differently?" There was a good chance that the tone of Mabel's voice was hopeful; her heart rate was slowing, clearly relaxing.

Destruction glanced sidelong at Baymax before shrugging. "Bill wasn't expansive on the...side-effects. It's all very well and good for him - _he_ got command over the platonic realm of thought without the neuroses the rest of _us_ got saddled with."

In the silence that followed, the humans (and spirit) exchanged a series of glances. It took about twenty seconds before Mabel spoke up.

"So...where does you _not_ destroying us fit into this whole family dysfunction?"

"For eons, I have destroyed because everything will die someday. Now...I think I should destroy that which is lost to make way for the new." 

"Oh! Well, that's...good?"

"I think it is a productive first step in recovering from chronic obsession," Baymax said, drawing stares from the assembled.

"That's…" Mabel stepped to Hiro's and Tadashi's side, glancing at them. "It _sounds_ like a good idea."

"It sounds crazy!" Arthur snapped. "We came here to destroy the Chimerae, not - let them go because they promise to stop killing people!"

"That's...true," Mabel agreed. "But if Baymax thinks it's worth a try...we don't actually have anyone who can deal with Destruction's power without their head exploding."

"If I may interject...I don't have professional credentials, but I could attempt some sort of supervised release, continuing our discussions to help Destruction overcome his obsessions."

"Huh," Tadashi said. "You _are_ programmed to offer long-term care."

"To immortal extradimensional demons?" Arthur demanded, throwing up his hands.

"We're hardly immortal. Mind, the only thing that could kill one of us is another Chimera-"

"No, no, I _like_ this idea! If it works, we're down one Chimera and no one has to get vaporized. If it doesn't, we just have to think of something else." Mabel, grinning widely at the assembled entities, hopped close to Destruction. "But frankly, I've got a good feeling about this." She looked to Baymax, still grinning. "Don't you?"

"I...believe there is a meaningful chance of significant improvement. The benefits of a supportive relationship in the treatment of emotional issues are well-documented. I feel the same general principles can apply despite the difference in psychology."

"Great!" Mabel grabbed Destruction around the middle, and everyone paused, falling silent. She pulled back after approximately ten seconds, still grinning, and vital signs all around eased. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Yeah, let's not count this as a win just yet," Arthur muttered.

"Too late. We are officially two for two!" Mabel turned to Tadashi and the rest of Hiro's team. "Now, how about getting us a flight to Europe?"


	4. Chapter 4

Destruction sat among the ruins of Tokyo, legs folded in a lotus position as he meditated. He didn’t shift even when Bill Cipher appeared upside-down in front of him, waggling a hand at him.

"Morning!"

"You can leave me alone, Bill." Destruction closed his eyes, because he knew being ignored was the best way to annoy his brother. "I'm seeking inner peace."

"Did those god-killing abominations tell you to do this? They left Sis in _pieces_ , you know."

"I am aware what you've been telling the other Chimerae. They're keeping their distance. They seem to think you'll keep them safe."

"Oh, man, really?" Bill laughed for a long time; Destruction might have found it an unreasonable length of time, if he didn't know the other Chimera. "I mean, I am the best. I could probably take them with one paw tied behind my back."

"One wonders why you haven't, yet, seeing as they killed our sister."

"Oh, kiddo, do you know how many resistance groups there are? How many people call me out, trying to bring an end to this post-apocalyptic nightmare?"

"And one wonders how they managed it, given that the only thing that can kill one of us is another Chimera."

"...You just had to say that, didn't you?"

Destruction opened his eyes to get a proper glare in at Bill. "Yes, I did. What I want to know is _why_. Did you kill her because she _lost_ , because she wasn't _useful_ to you?"

Bill laughed again, doubling over in his mirth. "Oh, Destruction, if only you knew! She still had plenty of use. So do you, by the way."

Destruction pulled back his lips, baring his teeth. “You’ll find it harder to take me down than her.”

Bill grabbed Destruction’s shoulder, righting himself at the same time. “Man, there’s like a thousand hilarious things about that. One, I don’t really need to kill you to get what I want. Mind, you’ll probably die from the resulting wounds, given that trying to patch yourself up would probably make it worse. But also? None of you were ever a match for me.”

His grip on Destruction’s shoulder tightened, his vicious grin widening. “So you don’t exactly have a lot of say in the matter.”


	5. Chapter 5

A dark-haired man sat at a long wooden desk. He was dressed in sneakers, a wide, lumpy sweater, and jeans, and was writing distractedly on a piece of parchment with a quill pen. At a curt knock on the oaken door at the other side of the office, he glanced up briefly before calling, “Come in”.

“I could have been an assassin. Didn’t Moody teach you anything?” The man scowled at the wide-faced, bushy-haired woman that entered the office. She was dressed in loose black robes that more easily meshed with the quill and old-fashioned surroundings.

“Yes. Don’t let Death Eaters ambush you and stick you in your own trunk. I knew it was you, Hermione.” He tapped a glass orb on his right, in which a stark blue eye spun endlessly. “Moody’s last bequest, as it were.”

Hermione sighed. “Well. I came to tell you our visitor is taken care of. The Unspeakables were able to cobble together enough magic to get him out of here...although I can’t promise he made his way back to his home.”

Harry nodded. “He thought as much. He told me he’ll know when he’s done wandering.”

“Hm.” Hermione nodded in agreement, but she looked thoughtful...pensive. “Harry.”

“What?” Harry looked up from his paperwork. “Did Ron need you to talk to me?”

“Harry, he told me to thank you for your gift. I don’t remember you giving him anything. Did you-”

“I gave him the Elder Wand.” 

“Harry, I know you think he’s trustworthy, but-”

“Look. I looked at his memories. Pines is chasing after something terrible - a creature that makes Voldemort look like a joke. If he isn’t stopped, he’ll leave the world Pines came from and devastate every other one he comes across. So I thought we’d benefit from offering him our help. Besides,” he added with a wry grin, “Pines didn’t defeat me, and he doesn’t expect to come back here again. As far as I’m concerned, the Elder Wand isn’t a problem for us anymore.”

Hermione chuckled. “I always forget how sneaky you could be.” She abruptly sobered. “But I’m not comfortable sitting on our heels when something is out there that _you’re_ worrying about. I don’t suppose you got enough information about him to help us make preparations in case dealing with him becomes necessary?”

Harry grinned. “You’re asking if I expected you to have a billion questions? Of course. His name’s Bill Cipher, and he calls himself a dream demon…”


End file.
